


I'm Happy It's You

by mickeysdean



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Bipolar Disorder, Child Abuse, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Mentions of Canon Compliant Suicide Attempts, Self-Harm, little league
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2019-02-24 11:55:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13213236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mickeysdean/pseuds/mickeysdean
Summary: Ian was born with a birthmark on his hand and a scar on the bottom of his foot.





	I'm Happy It's You

**Author's Note:**

> This is based off a tumblr post that said: Instead of a soulmate AU where everything one draws or writes appears on the other's skin, how about one where injuries or disfigurements appear but don't physically impair or cause pain to the other person. 
> 
> Also the ending kind of sucks but I'm horrible at endings so

Ian was born with a birthmark on his hand and a scar on the bottom of his foot. 

~

Ian was four the first day that he woke up covered in bruises.

He had a cut along the bridge of his nose and his left eye was bruised and swollen. There were bruises in the shape of a hand around his arms and his stomach was purple and blue. The marks didn't hurt him, he wouldn't have even realized they were there had Fiona not pointed them out. 

Fiona cried after he left for school that day. She didn't cry for him, but for the child who received those bruises. The child who knew they were there before someone pointed them out because they did hurt.

~

Ian was seven when Fiona realized who his soulmate was. 

She went to pick him up from his little league practice when she saw a boy on first base. He had a black eye that matched Ian's and even from the distance she could see a birthmark on his hand. He was dirty and angry looking and couldn't have been over eight. 

She wanted to help him, she was going to go over, but she saw Terry Milkovich walk onto the baseball diamond, and the boy's face change. He looked terrified, but he quickly covered it up and followed his father home.

Ian wakes up with more bruises. 

~

Ian was ten when Lip realized who it was. 

Mickey Milkovich was in his class. They didn't talk or get along very well. Lip never paid attention to him. 

That was until they got in a fight. Lip didn't know how much damage 6th graders could do until he went home with a split lip and a black eye. When he went home that night, Ian had bruised knuckles and a bruise on the bottom of his jaw. The same ones Mickey had by the end of the day. 

He went and found Fiona in the kitchen. She was slumped over a math textbook, trying to complete her homework. 

"Ian is soulmates with Mickey Milkovich," he had said. "He has the same bruises that I gave Mickey today."

"I know."

"Mickey's a boy."

"I know, Lip. Don't tell Ian. He'll try and do something stupid and end up getting killed by Terry."

~

Ian was twelve when she told him. 

He had woken up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and had caught what he looked like in the mirror. A split lip, black eyes, bruised chin. A cut over his eyebrow. There were marks around his throat and his stomach was practically black.

He ran to Fiona's room, tears falling down his cheeks and his hands shaking because _he just wanted to help._

"Fi, someone's hurtin' them! Why won't it stop? Why does it keep happenin'?" His cheeks were red and his eyes were puffy. He climbed up onto her bed, pulling his knees to his chest as he cried, "What am I supposed to do?!" 

She smoothed the red curls from his face, using one hand to brush away some of the tears flooding his cheeks. She couldn't watch Ian cry anymore when she knew exactly who was being hurt. 

"Ian, sweetface, I think I know who it is..."

"Really? Why haven't you told me?" He was getting angrier with every word that fell from his mouth. "We could have protected them! Tell me, it's not gonna be too much for me to handle."

"Well, um, Lip and I, we think it's Mickey Milkovich."

She sees the moment that Ian realizes who his soulmate is, can see when his brain connects the puzzle pieces and he knows why his soulmate is always hurting.

She tells him it wouldn't be a good idea to try and help. They could end up hurt, or worse. He sobs harder, begging her to help him. She gives in.

~

Ian is twelve and a half when Mickey's dad gets hauled off to jail and he and Mandy move in with the Gallaghers. Permanently. 

Lip had confronted him at school, told him he knew about his dad and how he treated his kids. Mickey told him he didn't know shit, but when Lip offered for him to stay at his house, even after his dad came home, he took it. He packed his and Mandy's bags and led her two blocks over to the Gallagher house. 

He had been confused, having no idea why some fucking Gallagher, who's house probably already had enough mouths to feed had told him he could move in, but he knew it was safer. He wouldn't be hurt there, _Mandy_ wouldn't be hurt there. 

~

Ian was thirteen when Mickey realized he was his soulmate. 

Mickey and Mandy had been living with the Gallaghers for around six months. Mickey had a room in the basement, and Mandy shared with Debbie. 

Ian and Mickey had been playing video games on the couch when Frank came home, stumbling and yelling at Ian to get him another fucking beer. When Ian ignored him in favor of beating Mickey in a round of Mario Kart, he had grabbed him by his shirt and punched him. 

Mickey had jumped up from where he was seated, pulling Frank back and delivering punches to his face. He was only fourteen, but he knew how to fight better than most people on the southside, let alone a drunk Frank Gallagher. 

He'd kicked him out of the house, locking the doors behind him before he headed back to Ian. He kneeled in front of him and looked him over. 

He froze at the sight of bleeding knuckles that matched his own. Ian hadn't hit Frank back. He looks up into Ian's eyes, and Ian makes eye contact with him. 

Mickey breaks it seconds later, turning his head to the side. He could already feel the tears welling up and he blinked them back, "I'm sorry." 

"For what?" He sounded so genuinely confused and a tear escaped from Mickey's eye. He sniffed, bringing his hand up to rub his knuckles across his nose. 

"I'm sorry that it's me, man."

"Don't be sorry, Mickey," Mickey stared resolutely at the floor to the left of him. "Look at me. Please?" He looked up, eyes still not meeting Ian's. But then Ian's hands were on the sides of his face, tilting his head so they made eye contact. "'M not upset, Mick. I'm happy you know now." He murmured, smiling slightly at Mickey. 

"You guys knew? That's why you were helpin' me?"

"Fiona told me like a year ago, I think she found out when we were way younger," He paused for a minute, taking a deep breath, "I know you've been through a lot of shit, and this is a big thing, so you don't gotta do anything about it now, but I wanna be your friend."

"You're already my friend." Ian smiles brightly, pulling Mickey forward and hugging him. 

~

Ian is fourteen when he kisses his soulmate for the first time. 

They're laying on the outfield, passing a joint back and forth. They're both a little high, and they're happy. 

"-and I punched Lip in the face and knocked him out and Fiona yelled at me for an hour." 

"You're such a dick, Ian."

"You are what you eat," Mickey hides a smile, shaking his head at Ian and taking a drag from the joint before putting it out on the ground next to him and flicking it away. Ian pokes at his side, "C'mon, Mick, it was funny."

"Like you've sucked a dick before," and the next thing he knows, him and Mickey are laughing and wrestling around in the grass. He ends up on his back, pinned to the ground by Mickey, his arms held above his head by one of the older boy's hands. Ian was hard, shifting so it wouldn't press into Mickey's leg. They were both a little out of breath but still smiled at the other. 

Ian's eyes flick down to Mickey's lips. He leans up slightly just as Mickey starts leaning down. Ian's heart races and he can't get any farther because Mickey is holding him down. 

When Mickey finally kisses him, Ian whines a little. The hand holding his writs releases them and then Mickey's hands are on the side of his face. Ian lets his hands roam, one staying in Mickey's hair while the other runs along his shoulders and back. 

They jerk each other off, and when they're finished Mickey kisses him, slow and sweet. Ian knows he's in love with him, has known for years, probably before he even knew it was Mickey. 

"I love you so much, Mick. And sometimes I can't breathe and I've never been so happy before because you just kissed me." He leans forward, pressing a quick kiss to Mickey's lips. "I'm so happy it's you."

"'M happy it's you too, Ee." 

~

Ian is sixteen when Monica tries to kill herself. 

Jimmy is yelling for towels and Ian is the first one to pull some from the drawer. He's crying as he throws them to Jimmy, hands shaking as they come up around his mouth. There are tattooed hands on his shoulders, pulling him back until Mickey is leaning on the wall and Ian can tuck his face into the side of his neck. His arms are tight around Mickey, and Mickey is holding him back even tighter. 

Mickey holds his hand at the hospital, comforts him as much as he can. He finds Ian punching a wall after claiming he was going to take a piss, but once he brought him back to the waiting room, he continued to hold his hand, ignoring their matching sets of bruised knuckles. 

He and Ian end up on Fiona's bed that night, Mickey holding a crying Ian while Fiona holds Debbie and Carl. 

~

Ian is seventeen when he gets sick. 

He can't get out of bed, but Mickey is still there. He doesn't touch Ian unless Ian gives him permission, he makes sure he eats and drinks, helps him to the bathroom, and lays with him every night. He tells Ian how much he loves him. Ian never yells at him, he's the only person he won't yell at. He just wants Mickey to hold him. Mickey always does. 

Until Ian wakes one day at noon and Mickey isn't there. Mickey is always there. It is probably the hardest thing he's ever done, but he drags himself out of bed to check if Mickey had gone to the bathroom. Mickey isn't there and he gets distracted when he sees the razor on the side of the tub. 

Mickey is at work. He'd run out of sick days and he really couldn't lose his job if he was going to have to pay for meds once he could get Ian out of bed. 

His knee is bouncing as he sits with a few if his coworkers and eats his lunch. He was worried because his Ian was hurting and he'd seen what could happen and he never wanted to see Ian like that. He wasn't so lucky. 

"Dude, look at your arms." 

The thin lines appeared on the inside of his wrists, and he knows whats happening. He feels like he's gonna pass out, but knows he can't. He needs to get to Ian. He's never run so fast. 

He calls Fiona as he runs, tells her to find Ian and make him stop. 

When he gets to the house, he takes the stairs three at a time, almost falling on the last step, but barely noticing. Ian is there, in the bathroom. Fiona is talking to him, trying to convince him to put down the razor, but then Mickey is there. 

Mickey is there and he's dropping to his knees beside Ian and taking it from him and giving it to Fiona. He's pulling Ian towards him and Ian is collapsing on his chest and sobbing and trying to apologize. 

Mickey is ripping the sleeves off his shirt because Ian is bleeding and he _has_ to fix it. Fiona is calling 911, and Mickey is trying the hardest he ever has to not cry. 

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Mick, I'm so sorry." Ian is broken and Mickey is going to fix him and maybe he'll have a few more scars, but what does that matter compared to the hundreds of scars Ian has because of Mickey? The one on the bottom of his foot from when Mickey had been learning to walk and had stepped on glass from the beer bottle he had knocked over. The hundreds of scars he has because Mickey never fucking fought back. The scars on his ass and his thigh from when Mickey was shot. 

The four lines on his wrist were nothing compared to those. 

"It's not your fuckin' fault. Everything is gonna be fine, Ee." He brushes tears from Ian's cheeks. 

"I thought you were gone, Mick. I didn't think it through, I just thought you wanted to leave me and I-" 

"Shh, Ee, it's okay. I'm never leaving you. I'm right here, okay? I just didn't have any sick days left and I had to go to work." 

He holds him and kisses his forehead and tells him he loves him until the ambulance comes. Mickey goes with him to the hospital. 

~

Ian is nineteen when he marries his soulmate. 

They get married at the Alibi and Ian had never been happier. They smile and laugh and get a little high after because Ian can't drink on his meds. It reminds him of when they had their first kiss. 

He has more scars than he did when he was born, some from Mickey and some from himself. But they both still have the birthmark on their hands.


End file.
